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Missouri Senate Bill SB779

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB779 Compare Versions

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22 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
33 SENATE BILL NO. 779
44 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
55 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR TRENT.
66 2910S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
77 AN ACT
88 To amend chapter 361, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to virtual currency.
99
1010 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
1111 Section A. Chapter 361, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
1212 one new section, to be known as section 361.1100, to read as 2
1313 follows:3
1414 361.1100. 1. This section shall be known and may be 1
1515 cited as the "Virtual Currency Kiosk Consumer Protection 2
1616 Act". 3
1717 2. For purposes of this section, the following terms 4
1818 and phrases mean: 5
1919 (1) "Bank Secrecy Act", the federal Bank Secrecy Act, 6
2020 31 U.S.C. Section 5311, et seq., and its implementing rules 7
2121 and regulations, as amended and recodified from time to time; 8
2222 (2) "Blockchain", a distributed digital ledger or 9
2323 database that is chronological, consensus -based, 10
2424 decentralized, and mathematically verified in nature; 11
2525 (3) "Blockchain analytics", a software service that 12
2626 uses data from various virtual currencies and their 13
2727 applicable blockchains to provide a risk rating specif ic to 14
2828 digital wallet addresses from users of virtual currency 15
2929 kiosks; 16
3030 (4) "Digital wallet", hardware or software that 17
3131 enables individuals to store and use virtual currency; 18 SB 779 2
3232 (5) "Digital wallet address", an alphanumeric 19
3333 identifier representi ng a destination on a blockchain for a 20
3434 virtual currency transfer that is associated with a digital 21
3535 wallet; 22
3636 (6) "Director", the director of the division; 23
3737 (7) "Division", the division of finance within the 24
3838 department of commerce and insurance; 25
3939 (8) "Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or 26
4040 Securities Investor Protection Corporation", a bank, credit 27
4141 union, savings and loan association, trust company, savings 28
4242 association, savings bank, industrial bank, or industrial 29
4343 loan company organize d under the laws of the United States 30
4444 or any state of the United States, if the bank, credit 31
4545 union, savings and loan association, trust company, savings 32
4646 association, savings bank, industrial bank, or industrial 33
4747 loan company has federally insured deposi ts; 34
4848 (9) "Fiat currency", a medium of exchange that is 35
4949 authorized or adopted by the United States government as 36
5050 part of its currency and is not backed by a commodity; 37
5151 (10) "Individual", a natural person; 38
5252 (11) "NMLS", the Nationwide Multi state Licensing 39
5353 System and Registry developed by the Conference of State 40
5454 Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential 41
5555 Mortgage Regulators and owned and operated by the State 42
5656 Regulatory Registry, LLC, or any successor or affiliated 43
5757 entity, for the licensing and registration of persons in 44
5858 financial services industries; 45
5959 (12) "United States PATRIOT Act", the federal Uniting 46
6060 and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools 47
6161 Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 and 48
6262 its implementing rules and regulations, as amended and 49
6363 recodified from time to time; 50 SB 779 3
6464 (13) "Virtual currency", 51
6565 (a) Any type of digital unit that is used as a medium 52
6666 of exchange or a form of digitally stored value or that is 53
6767 incorporated into payment system technology. Virtual 54
6868 currency shall be construed to include digital units of 55
6969 exchange that: 56
7070 a. Have a centralized repository or administrator; 57
7171 b. Are decentralized and have no centralized 58
7272 repository or administrator; or 59
7373 c. May be created or obtained by computing or 60
7474 manufacturing effort; 61
7575 (b) Virtual currency shall not be construed to include 62
7676 digital units that are used: 63
7777 a. Solely within online gaming platforms with no 64
7878 market or application outside such gaming platforms; or 65
7979 b. Exclusively as part of a consumer affinity or 66
8080 rewards program, and can be applied solely as payment for 67
8181 purchases with the issuer or other designated merchants, but 68
8282 cannot be converted into or redeemed for fiat currenc y; 69
8383 (14) "Virtual currency kiosk", an electronic terminal 70
8484 of the virtual currency kiosk operator that enables the 71
8585 owner or operator to facilitate the exchange of fiat 72
8686 currency for virtual currency or virtual currency for fiat 73
8787 currency or other vir tual currency, including, but not 74
8888 limited to: 75
8989 (a) Connecting directly to a separate virtual currency 76
9090 exchange that performs the actual virtual currency 77
9191 transmission; or 78
9292 (b) Drawing upon the virtual currency in the 79
9393 possession of the owner or operator of the electronic 80
9494 terminal; 81 SB 779 4
9595 (15) "Virtual currency kiosk operator", a corporation, 82
9696 limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or 83
9797 foreign entity qualified to do business in this state that 84
9898 operates a virtual currency kiosk within this state. 85
9999 3. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, 86
100100 all information or reports obtained by the division from a 87
101101 virtual currency kiosk operator, and all information 88
102102 contained in or related to an examination, investigation, 89
103103 operating report, or condition report prepared by, on behalf 90
104104 of, or for the use of the division in relation to a virtual 91
105105 currency kiosk operator, are confidential and are not 92
106106 subject to disclosure under chapter 610. 93
107107 (2) Information contained in the records of the 94
108108 division that is not confidential and may be available to 95
109109 the public either on the division's website, upon receipt by 96
110110 the division of a written request, or in NMLS shall include: 97
111111 (a) The name, business address, telephone number, an d 98
112112 unique identifier of a virtual currency kiosk operator; 99
113113 (b) The business address of a virtual currency kiosk 100
114114 operator's registered agent for service; and 101
115115 (c) Copies of any final orders of the division 102
116116 relating to any violation of this sect ion or regulations 103
117117 implementing this section. 104
118118 4. If any provision of this section is inconsistent 105
119119 with any federal law, including but not limited to the Bank 106
120120 Secrecy Act or the United States PATRIOT Act, the applicable 107
121121 federal law shall govern to the extent of any inconsistency. 108
122122 5. (1) The director may request evidence of 109
123123 compliance with this section or a rule adopted or order 110
124124 issued pursuant to this section as reasonably necessary or 111
125125 appropriate to administer and enforce this section, a nd 112 SB 779 5
126126 other applicable law, including the Bank Secrecy Act and the 113
127127 United States PATRIOT Act. 114
128128 (2) A virtual currency kiosk operator shall provide 115
129129 the director all records the director may reasonably require 116
130130 to ensure compliance with this section. 117
131131 6. As part of establishing a relationship with a 118
132132 customer, and prior to entering into an initial transaction 119
133133 for, on behalf of, or with such customer, each virtual 120
134134 currency kiosk operator shall disclose in clear, 121
135135 conspicuous, and legible writing in the English language, 122
136136 whether in accessible terms of service or elsewhere, all 123
137137 material risks associated with its products, services, and 124
138138 activities and virtual currency generally, including 125
139139 disclosures substantially similar to the following: 126
140140 (1) Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not 127
141141 backed by the government, and accounts and value balances 128
142142 are not subject to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or 129
143143 Securities Investor Protection Corporation protections; 130
144144 (2) Legislative and regula tory changes or actions at 131
145145 the state, federal, or international level may adversely 132
146146 affect the use, transfer, exchange, and value of virtual 133
147147 currency; 134
148148 (3) Transactions in virtual currency may be 135
149149 irreversible, and, accordingly, losses due to fraud ulent or 136
150150 accidental transactions may not be recoverable; 137
151151 (4) Some virtual currency transactions shall be deemed 138
152152 to be made when recorded on a public ledger, which is not 139
153153 necessarily the date or time that the customer initiates the 140
154154 transaction; 141
155155 (5) The value of virtual currency may be derived from 142
156156 the continued willingness of market participants to exchange 143
157157 fiat currency for virtual currency, which may result in the 144 SB 779 6
158158 potential for permanent and total loss of value of a 145
159159 particular virtual c urrency should the market for that 146
160160 virtual currency disappear; 147
161161 (6) There is no assurance that a person who accepts a 148
162162 virtual currency as payment today will continue to do so in 149
163163 the future; 150
164164 (7) The volatility and unpredictability of the price 151
165165 of virtual currency relative to fiat currency may result in 152
166166 significant loss over a short period of time; 153
167167 (8) The nature of virtual currency may lead to an 154
168168 increased risk of fraud or cyber attack; 155
169169 (9) The nature of virtual currency means th at any 156
170170 technological difficulties experienced by the virtual 157
171171 currency kiosk operator may prevent the access or use of a 158
172172 customer's virtual currency; and 159
173173 (10) Any bond or trust account maintained by the 160
174174 virtual currency kiosk operator for the bene fit of its 161
175175 customers may not be sufficient to cover all losses incurred 162
176176 by customers. 163
177177 7. When opening an account for a new customer, and 164
178178 prior to entering into an initial transaction for, on behalf 165
179179 of, or with such customer, each virtual currency kiosk 166
180180 operator shall disclose in clear, conspicuous, and legible 167
181181 writing in the English language, whether in accessible terms 168
182182 of service or elsewhere, all relevant terms and conditions 169
183183 associated with its products, services, and activities and 170
184184 virtual currency generally, including disclosures 171
185185 substantially similar to the following: 172
186186 (1) The customer's liability for unauthorized virtual 173
187187 currency transactions; 174
188188 (2) Under what circumstances the virtual currency 175
189189 kiosk operator will, absent a court or government order, 176 SB 779 7
190190 disclose information concerning the customer's account to 177
191191 third parties; 178
192192 (3) The customer's right to receive periodic account 179
193193 statements and valuations from the virtual currency kiosk 180
194194 operator; 181
195195 (4) The customer's right to receive a receipt, trade 182
196196 ticket, or other evidence of a transaction; 183
197197 (5) The customer's right to prior notice of a change 184
198198 in the virtual currency kiosk operator's rules or policies; 185
199199 and 186
200200 (6) Such other disclosures as are customarily given in 187
201201 connection with the opening of customer accounts. 188
202202 8. Prior to entering into a virtual currency 189
203203 transaction with a customer, each virtual currency kiosk 190
204204 operator shall ensure a warning is disclosed to a customer 191
205205 substantially similar to t he following: 192
206206 9. Upon completion of any virtual currency kiosk 208
207207 transaction, each virtual currency kiosk operator shall 209
208208 193 Customer Notice. Please Read Carefully.
209209 194
210210 195
211211 196
212212 197
213213 198
214214 Did you receive a phone call from your bank,
215215 software provider, the police, or were you
216216 directed to make a payment for Social Security,
217217 utility bill, investment, warrants, or bail money
218218 at this kiosk? STOP
219219
220220 199
221221 200
222222 Is anyone on the phone pressuring you to make a
223223 payment of any kind? STOP
224224
225225 201
226226 202
227227 203
228228 I understand that the purchase and sale of
229229 cryptocurrency is a final irreversible and non -
230230 refundable transaction.
231231
232232 204
233233 205
234234 206
235235 207
236236 I confirm I am sending funds to a wallet I own or
237237 directly have control over. I confirm that I am
238238 using funds gained from my own initiative to make
239239 my transaction.
240240 SB 779 8
241241 provide to a customer a digital or physical receipt 210
242242 containing the following information: 211
243243 (1) The name and contact information of the virtual 212
244244 currency kiosk operator, including a telephone number 213
245245 established by the virtual currency kiosk operator to answer 214
246246 questions and register complaints; 215
247247 (2) The type, value, date, and precise time of the 216
248248 transaction in the local time zone; 217
249249 (3) The fee charged; 218
250250 (4) The exchange rate, if applicable; 219
251251 (5) A statement of the liability of the virtual 220
252252 currency kiosk operator for non -delivery or delayed 221
253253 delivery; and 222
254254 (6) A statement of the refund policy of the virtual 223
255255 currency kiosk operator. 224
256256 10. All virtual currency kiosk operators shall use 225
257257 blockchain analytics software to assist in the prevention of 226
258258 sending purchased virtual currency from a virtual currency 227
259259 kiosk operator to a digital wallet known to be affiliated 228
260260 with fraudulent activity at the time of a transaction. The 229
261261 division may request evidence from any virtual currency 230
262262 kiosk operator of current use of blockchain analytics. 231
263263 11. All virtual currency kiosk operators performing 232
264264 business in this state shall provide live customer service 233
265265 at a minimum on Monday through Fri day between the hours of 234
266266 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. The customer service toll -free 235
267267 number shall be displayed on the virtual currency kiosk or 236
268268 the virtual currency kiosk screens. 237
269269 12. All virtual currency kiosk operators shall take 238
270270 reasonable steps to detect and prevent fraud, including 239
271271 establishing and maintaining a written anti -fraud policy. 240
272272 The anti-fraud policy shall, at a minimum, include: 241 SB 779 9
273273 (1) The identification and assessment of fraud -related 242
274274 risk areas; 243
275275 (2) Procedures and contr ols to protect against 244
276276 identified risks; 245
277277 (3) Allocation of responsibility for monitoring risks; 246
278278 and 247
279279 (4) Procedures for the periodic evaluation and 248
280280 revision of the anti -fraud procedures, controls, and 249
281281 monitoring mechanisms. 250
282282 13. (1) Each virtual currency kiosk operator shall 251
283283 maintain, implement, and enforce a written "Enhanced Due 252
284284 Diligence Policy". Such a policy shall be reviewed and 253
285285 approved by the virtual currency kiosk operator's board of 254
286286 directors or an equivalent governing bo dy of the virtual 255
287287 currency kiosk operator. 256
288288 (2) The "Enhanced Due Diligence Policy" shall 257
289289 identify, at minimum, individuals who are at risk of fraud 258
290290 based on age or mental capacity. 259
291291 14. (1) Each virtual currency kiosk operator shall 260
292292 comply with the provisions of this section, any lawful 261
293293 order, rule, or regulation made or issued under the 262
294294 provisions of this section, and all applicable federal and 263
295295 state laws, rules, and regulations. 264
296296 (2) Each virtual currency kiosk shall maintain, 265
297297 implement, and enforce written compliance policies and 266
298298 procedures. Such policies and procedures shall be reviewed 267
299299 and approved by the virtual currency kiosk operator's board 268
300300 of directors or an equivalent governing body of the virtual 269
301301 currency kiosk opera tor. 270
302302 15. (1) Each virtual currency kiosk operator shall 271
303303 designate and employ a compliance officer with the following 272
304304 requirements: 273 SB 779 10
305305 (a) The individual shall be qualified to coordinate 274
306306 and monitor compliance with this section and all other 275
307307 applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations; 276
308308 (b) The individual shall be employed full -time by the 277
309309 virtual currency kiosk operator; and 278
310310 (c) The designated compliance officer cannot be any 279
311311 individual who owns more than twenty perc ent of the virtual 280
312312 currency kiosk operator by whom the individual is employed. 281
313313 (2) Compliance responsibilities required under federal 282
314314 and state laws, rules, and regulations shall be completed by 283
315315 full-time employees of the virtual currency kiosk op erator. 284
316316 16. Each virtual currency kiosk operator shall 285
317317 designate and employ a consumer protection officer with each 286
318318 of the following requirements: 287
319319 (1) The individual shall be qualified to coordinate 288
320320 and monitor compliance with this section a nd all other 289
321321 applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations; 290
322322 (2) The individual shall be employed full -time by the 291
323323 virtual currency kiosk operators; and 292
324324 (3) The designated consumer protection officer cannot 293
325325 be an individual who ow ns more than twenty percent of the 294
326326 virtual currency kiosk operator by whom the individual is 295
327327 employed. 296
328328 17. (1) Each virtual currency kiosk operator shall 297
329329 submit a report to the division of the location of each 298
330330 virtual currency kiosk located with in this state within 299
331331 forty-five days of the end of the calendar quarter. The 300
332332 director shall formulate a system for virtual currency kiosk 301
333333 operators to submit such locations that is consistent with 302
334334 the requirements of this section. 303 SB 779 11
335335 (2) The location report shall include, at a minimum, 304
336336 the following information regarding the location where a 305
337337 virtual currency kiosk is located: 306
338338 (a) Company legal name; 307
339339 (b) Any fictitious or trade name; 308
340340 (c) Physical address; 309
341341 (d) Start date of operation of virtual currency kiosk 310
342342 at location; and 311
343343 (e) End date of operation of virtual currency kiosk at 312
344344 location, if applicable. 313
345345 18. (1) Any virtual currency kiosk operator who owns, 314
346346 operates, solicits, markets, advertises, or facilitate s 315
347347 virtual currency kiosks in this state shall be deemed to be 316
348348 engaged in money transmission and require licensure pursuant 317
349349 to sections 361.900 to 361.1035. 318
350350 (2) All unlicensed virtual currency kiosk operators 319
351351 shall apply for a money transmitter li cense within sixty 320
352352 days after this section goes into effect. Virtual currency 321
353353 kiosk operators who apply within this time will be allowed 322
354354 to continue operations while the division reviews the 323
355355 application. Any virtual currency kiosk operators whose 324
356356 application is denied by the division shall cease operations 325
357357 until granted a money transmitter license. 326
358358 19. The division of finance may promulgate rules for 327
359359 the purpose of implementing the provisions of this section. 328
360360 Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in 329
361361 section 536.010, that is created under the authority 330
362362 delegated in this section shall become effective only if it 331
363363 complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of 332
364364 chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This 333
365365 section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the 334
366366 powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 335 SB 779 12
367367 536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove 336
368368 and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, 337
369369 then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed 338
370370 or adopted after August 28, 2025, shall be invalid and void. 339
371371